"Alright, go ahead and get his consent first."
Claire saw Lionel's stunned expression and knew exactly what was running through his head.
However, she had no intention of doing his dirty work for him.
She simply pretended not to catch his underlying meaning.
Seeing her impassive reaction, Lionel assumed he hadn't made himself clear.
He probed cautiously, "Dr. James, could you maybe ask him for me?"
"Since it's a teaching demonstration, we've had patients refuse in the past."
"You know him well. If you bring it up, he'll probably agree right away."
In reality, the patient named Daniel might have looked like a cheerful, friendly neighbor on the surface.
But he was actually incredibly difficult to deal with.
Lionel was terrified that if he asked himself, he'd be flat-out rejected.
It would be much smoother if Claire opened her mouth.
Claire leveled a gaze at Lionel. The man was in his early thirties—or maybe just well-maintained and pushing forty.
Either way, he was entirely too calculating.
Then again, he had the credentials to be arrogant.
After all, he was Dr. Sterling's own protégé.
But Claire despised it when people tried to play these petty mind games with her.
She barely even knew Lionel.
Lawler had only just introduced them; why on earth should she do him a favor?
That simply wasn't how the world worked.
Claire gave him a half-smile. "Lionel, it's precisely because Daniel and I are acquainted that I can't be the one to ask."
"Otherwise, wouldn't it look like I'm cashing in on a favor?"
Lionel scoffed inwardly. What kind of favor could she possibly hold over a patient when Barry was the attending physician?
He had always assumed Claire was only added to this project to pad her resume.
Alternative medicine had an incredibly limited role in treating something as severe as bone cancer.
If she claimed acupuncture could alleviate pain, he might understand.
But to suggest it had a curative or decisive impact? Lionel didn't buy a word of it.
The only exception would be if his mentor, Dr. Sterling, intervened personally.
Unfortunately, Dr. Sterling's patients
were all top-tier ellos dinary ne
cases like this man this man never even reached his desk.
Lionel simply wanted to see if Claire actually had any real skills.
If she was just a fraud banking on her reputation, he wouldn't stoop to working with
her.
If she actually knew what she was doing, he could accept it.
But honestly, who wanted to admit that a teenage girl was better at this than he was?
He used to be the brilliant prodigy praised by all his instructors.
After all, the Charles family had a proud medical legacy.
Coupled with his mentor's strict guidance, Lionel truly didn't believe he was inferior to anyone his age.
Faced with Claire's blunt refusal and
knowing she had seen right through hint of
him tionel didn't show a rough
embarrassment.
"Well, since you're reluctant, I suppose I'll have to do it myself."
"I just hope he actually agrees to it."
"It would be such a shame to miss out on such a fantastic learning opportunity." What a smooth talker!
Claire stared right back at him. "Then I'll leave it to you to have a nice chat with Daniel. I'm sure he'll agree."
"Daniel is the kindest man around. There's no reason he'd make things difficult for you."
Lionel was speechless. *So if he does make it difficult, it's entirely my fault, right?* This girl absolutely refused to take a loss.
Though reluctant, Lionel had no choice but to go ask Daniel himself.
However, he was smart about it. He immediately brought up how there was a brilliant young specialist who had been administering his acupuncture.
"I hear your incredible progress is closely tied to her treatments."
"Daniel, could I ask for a huge favor? We'd love for her to do a teaching demonstration on you."